President Cyril Ramaphosa says that South Africa needs to accelerate its transition to a cleaner economy, warning that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense while the country’s biggest trading partners are shopping around for ‘greener’ pastures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the president’s words also come at a time when his administration is looking to shift the goalposts on ‘transitional’ funding while keeping South Africa more reliant on coal and fossil fuels for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Writing his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa said that severe storms and extreme weather left many parts of the country\u2014especially in the Western Cape\u2014battered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While these events have a devastating impact on human lives, health and safety, they also carry massive risks for economic activity\u2014the fallout of which risks carrying the human cost even higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president said that the extreme weather is evidence of the effects of climate change worsening, with heatwaves, severe storms, flooding and even uncharacteristic cold sweeping through parts of the country over the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing are just some of the areas of economic activity that could be adversely affected by climate change. Then there are the equally dire effects on water security, food security, public infrastructure, human settlements, health care and education,” the president said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The increasing frequency of disasters impacts public finances. On the one hand, disasters affect economic growth and lower tax revenues. On the other hand, they require increased expenditures on disaster relief, health care, and other forms of social support for affected communities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These realities mean that South Africa has to accelerate its journey to being a greener and cleaner economy so that it can adapt to climate change and mitigate its impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n